


Still a Wizard

by sleepymarvel



Category: Wizards of Waverly Place
Genre: Alex being iconic as always, Character Study, Flashbacks, Gen, alex protecting her family, jerry russo is my favorite character, sibling dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25903609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepymarvel/pseuds/sleepymarvel
Summary: He's so proud of Alex for using her powers to save them that he doesn't really think too much more about it. It hits him later that night as he's falling asleep that the whole situation was also kind of fucked up. Dads are supposed to protect their little girls and not the other way around.
Relationships: Jerry Russo/Theresa Russo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Still a Wizard

Jerry Russo can still feel magic in his fingertips, even though he’s not the family wizard anymore. It’s like a phantom limb, that familiar sensation of sparks and power bubbling under his skin, and sometimes when he’s cutting bread or cold cuts he swears that he’s still a wizard. It's almost as if all he needs to do is say the right spell and the kitchen knife will float up in front of him and cut the sandwiches for him like something straight out of a wizard cooking show. He _loves_ those wizard cooking shows.

A moment passes and he's still human. 

He’s still just Jerry Russo, a normal guy who runs a Manhattan sub station with his wife. And that's okay. Theresa comes up behind him while he’s still prepping sandwiches and wraps her arms around his middle. He can feel her smiling into the back of his neck before she even speaks. He can’t help but smile too.

“We did good.” Theresa says and she’s beaming. Jerry isn’t sure if she’s talking about the kids, or the business, or their marriage. Maybe all of it.

He turns and kisses her, and he feels those phantom magic sparks again, except this time all over. He knows in that moment what he’s always known, that giving up his powers for her was the right decision. Maybe Theresa is his magic.

“We sure did.” Jerry says into her lips as she kisses him back. They’re both in their Waverly Sub Station aprons and in full view of the customers and that’s okay too. It’s even okay when Alex descends the spiral staircase and shields her eyes dramatically and fake gags at the sight of her parents kissing.

The first time Alex saves him, _really saves him,_ she’s ten years old. Jerry is walking her home from her ballet class and he’s trying to explain that it’s not appropriate to teleport your dance teacher to the moon even if your bored and think ballet is girly and lame. Theresa has Alex all dressed in a little pink ballet tutu and flats. That was mistake number one. Really, it's a miracle that things didn't turn out worse. 

Thank God that due to some quick thinking, and some magic from his ten-year-old, the ballet instructor will have no memory of the fact that she was briefly in orbit around the earth. And even better, no memory of the fact that there are wizards on Waverly Place.

Jerry is holding Alex's hand tight as they walk through busy New York sidewalks on their way back to the sub station. He's trying to reprimand her but Alex is still giggling about the fact that her dance instructor had moon dust in her hair when she returned from space.

Reckless magic. Reckless magic. Magic is serious and dangerous and should only be used in emergencies. Especially when you’re ten years old and still a child. Especially when you’re ten years old and _my_ child. Good little wizards don’t use magic to send adults to space.

_And oh God he’s starting to sound like his father._

Jerry is telling Alex about the time he regretted teleporting her Uncle Kelbo to Antarctica when it happens. Suddenly, there’s a car barreling straight towards them. The driver must be drunk because there’s a red light and they’re in a crosswalk. 

Instinctively Jerry reaches for his family wand, which isn’t there, and his heart drops into his stomach. There's no magic sparks and power in him anymore, not really. He squeezes Alex’s hand and she looks up at him momentarily puzzled by the expression on his face. Even at ten-years-old she’s totally unafraid. After what feels like a moment, but in reality is only just a second, Alex laughs and waves her little training wand around in front of them. Sparks burst into the air and momentarily they're surrounded by smoke. 

Then they flash.

The intersection is gone. The car vanishes. Jerry Russo is holding onto his little daughter for dear life in the middle of the crowded sub station. Nobody seems to notice that they just appeared out of nowhere, which is good, because one mind erasing spell is enough for one day.

“Daddy you’re hugging me too tight. Can’t breathe.” Ten year old Alex whines. She’s totally unfazed by the fact that they were almost hit by a car. Jerry releases his daughter from the hug and she already has her hands on her hips as if to challenge him, “Since I saved your life you can’t be mad at me anymore.”

“I’m not mad.” Jerry says. And he isn’t. He can’t even remember what had upset him so much in the first place. His ten-year-old daughter sent her ballet teacher to the moon? At least she brought her back to Earth safe and secure. And she used the teleportation spell so well! Alex is only ten and she’s already picking up on magic so quick. Justin is smart, but maybe his daughter does have a chance of becoming the family wizard. Go figure. “I am so proud of you Alex.”

“Really?” Alex says, in the air of somebody plotting something, “You are?”

“Of course. That was a responsible use for magic. You did good, kiddo.”

Alex considers this. And then, “Okay and I also want ice cream for dinner.”

“Done.”

She brightens more, “And I want Justin to do all my chores. And I want Max to make me popcorn whenever I want.”

“Hey, don’t push it."

Alex frowns, but she figures having ice cream for dinner after sending your ballet instructor to the moon wasn't such a bad deal. The little wizard grins and sprints up the stairs to change out of the ballet outfit and into something more comfortable and less girly and pink. Even after she's gone, Jerry's heart is still pounding. He can still feel the dread of not having his wand and of not being able to do magic. 

_But -_

He's so proud of Alex for using her powers to save them that he doesn't really think too much more about it. It hits him later that night as he's falling asleep that the whole situation was also kind of fucked up. Dads are supposed to protect their little girls and not the other way around. 

When Alex is fifteen there's an angry customer at the counter of the Waverly Sub Station. He looks like a classic Italian mobster, straight out of the Sopranos or Goodfellas and he's talking to her dad in a low voice and saying stuff like _“You don’t know what I’m capable of.”_ And _“Where’s my money?”_

So maybe he isn’t even an angry customer. Maybe he’s just a mobster. But he did order the turkey club and finish it at a table before starting his spiel of threats, so Jerry supposes he’s a good customer too. A good customer that tips well. You never forget a customer who tips well. 

The mobster who ordered the turkey club is in the middle of saying something about restaurants catching fire all the time when Alex appears beside her dad at the counter. She looks awfully bored in her apron, begrudgingly sticking out her shift at the sub station. And, in a somewhat bizarre twist, she’s eating an ice cream that suspiciously resembles Disney World pineapple Dole Whip. Jerry sighs. He specifically told her that flashing herself to Disney World on a school night was off limits. They were not going to have a repeat of the incident with the wizard cop, which he just recently was able to get Alex to explain to him.

“What’s this guy’s problem?” Alex asks lazily, eating a heaping spoonful of her Disney World ice-cream. Jerry gets tense, because Alex has been known to be unpredictable and even though she was acting relaxed and unbothered he could sense that she knew that something bad was happening. Jerry glanced around the sub station for his wife, but she was no where in sight, and he suddenly had the awful thought that Alex was going to turn this guy into a coat rack. 

Bad idea to threaten a family with wizard kids. 

“You want to tell her or should I?” The mobster says, in his very New York and very Italian stereotype voice, making eye contact with Alex across the counter.

Alex grins back at him, "Tell me what?"

Jerry puts his hand on his daughter's shoulder, hoping to stop her from doing anything terrible to this stereotypical Italian mob member, “Alex, do you mind waiting out back for a moment?”

At first, Alex looks like she isn't going to move. Then she shrugs and laughs as if she's totally unfazed, "Hey, whatever. I don't want to work anyway."

As Alex turns to leave she tries to remember the spell from last week's magic lesson handout.

What was that spell that makes someone disappear again? 

Later that same night when Alex is down in the lair, browsing the WizNet for cute magical converse sneakers, Justin is giving her a look. A look that says _'I know what you did so fess up'_. Alex is very familiar with that look.

“What did you do to that guy that dad was arguing with?” Justin finally asks, very suspicious. Max looks up from his handheld magic video game, curious to what’s going on.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alex lies smoothly. She scans another page of magic shoes and her face lights up, and points at the screen excitedly, “Oh look these ones change colors every time you take a step!”

“Don’t play stupid Alex.” Justin says. As a rule, it’s best to get ahead of his sister's schemes before the chaos, “I saw you using magic on that guy when dad wasn’t looking.”

Alex gives him a defiant look ready to not tell him anything and then gives up anyway. She's super tired from school, magic, and Disney World and she figures she's too lazy to keep lying. Plus, she _needs_ a pair of cute magic converse and she can't exactly double task lying and shopping. It's a struggle.

“Ugh fine." Alex relents, "Let’s just say we won't be _seeing_ him around here anymore. If you know what I mean.”

“No. I have _no_ _idea_ what you mean.” Justin shoots back, even more suspicious than ever. "That's really creepy and ominous!" 

Alex shrugs, "Don't worry about it, Justin. Would it help if I bought you some magic shoes?"

"No!"

“Wait wait wait." Max interjects, tossing his magic video game aside. "What’s going on? And more importantly, can I have some magic shoes too?”

“It's a long story." Alex says, "Involving the mob. And the fact that dad's Italian."

Max blinks, "Woah, dad's Italian? Why didn't he ever tell us?"

"Max, it was never a secret." 

“Uh huh, sure, then why does everyone seem to know but me?”

“Whatever. I'm over this." Alex completes her purchase of magic color changing converse and heads towards the Wizard World door, "I’m going back to Disney World. If mom or dad asks just cover for me. Tell them I'm off breaking the law or something. They'll understand. Bye!” 

“Wait Alex you can’t –” Before Justin can finish telling his sister that she can't use magic to go to Disney World without telling their parents, she's already gone. And now he's going to have to tell his parents that the reason his sister isn't at the dinner table is because she's off breaking the law. 

_Great. Just great._

"I can't believe you never told me we were part Italian. Some brother you are." Max says, hurt, and storms up the lair stairs and back into the sub station. Justin sighs and goes back to his homework. Justin loves them, but sometimes it's a mystery to him that they're all even related.

Alex is sitting on top of the Hollywood sign eating a pizza when she realizes she'll always protect her family. With great power comes great responsibility or whatever. Justin said that to her once about the fact that they had magic. He must've heard it in one of his nerdy clubs. Whatever, just because it's nerdy and Justin said it doesn't mean it isn't true. And it doesn't matter if kids aren’t usually supposed to protect their parents, Alex thinks, because who made up that stupid rule anyway? 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I really enjoy Jerry’s character. It’s so interesting to think of how big a gesture it actually was for Jerry to give up his magic. He’s had it for a good twenty or so years and it must still be so hard for him to not have that anymore. I also wanted to write something about how Alex protects her family since her parents don't have any powers so it's an unusual dynamic. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed! Lmk what you think in the comments.


End file.
